Rain, rain , rain.

Today it was raining . We have been experiencing some dryer than normal conditions. That coupled with frost for several nights is not good for crops and gardens. Maybe the rain today will help, it looks like its here to stay. Anyway it got me thinking about playing. I have always wanted to try to photograph water droplets. Here are some of my results. Oh I could get hooked on this.......maybe different liquids.. lots to think about.

Country Skyscrapers

The friendly giants of the countryside, the grain elevators, are being slowly demolished and replaced by steel and concrete structures. Utilitarian but lacking the charm and the history of these old wooden structures. Soon to be extinct on the country skyline. This photo was taken in a nearby town on our way back from a farm auction. Even though the back roads are full of wildlife at dusk, and traveling home would have to be cautious and slower than normal, My husband waited, as I waited for what I thought were the perfect conditions to capture this shot. Thanks Honey.

The Man On The Moon

Even though I promised myself that I was not going to stay up late ..again. I wanted to try out some techniques that I have been studying for taking pictures of the moon. I was well rewarded as this is the best photo I have taken of the moon. I was so happy to with the result even the craters are visible. I guess this debunks another childhood belief about the moon being made of green cheese. What next, no tooth fairy.

For The Love Of Art

Monday I wandered the farm searching for something interesting to show you. I have always liked to photograph textures and repeating shapes. I also like the effect of lens flare. I think it added some feeling to this photo of a gate. I did have to lay on the ground on my back to get it.

Antique Plowing Match

Today we attended an antique plowing match.. thirty or so old tractors plowing 80 acres. Although not my idea , it was Fathers day so I conceded. Sitting in lawn chairs all day visiting neighbours and watching these guys have the time of their lives turned out to be fun after all. The free supper at the end of the day was a nice bonus. I have to admit that at some point even the non-tractor buffs like myself can be transported to a different era.

Unless you check out the young man's peircings.

Tom the Turkey

While I had my grand daughter staying with me I thought she would like to see a few different kinds of animals. So I took her to see a friend about 10 miles from our farm. My friend Shelley is an animal lover and has a fondness for birds in particular. This turkey was beautiful and hideous at the same time . He was drumming and gobbling on cue and Reese really enjoyed calling to him to make him gobble back at her. She also kept telling everyone that he looked like her dad. In her four yr old mind this means having the same name as her dad. But it was so much fun I never did correct her.

Dandilion Fairy

I am supposed to be working on photo edits for clients today but ..... how could I resist turning my little lady into a fairy princess. The dandelion pic is one I took this morning and the photo of Emily was taken last year when we were camping. I think the trick to making these kind of projects work is to make sure the lighting in each photos is close to the same , making the finished project more believable.

Three nipples

Around our house babies come in all sizes. The large nipples are for calves. We sometimes have to feed with a bottle if the mama doesn't have enough milk or does not want her baby. The bottles are huge too , designed to hold two litres (quarts) of liquid.

The speed of life

This is my little grand daughter Lady Em as I like to call her. She is shown here on our recent camping trip. I snapped this while she was running past on one of her many sprints from the tent to the tree. She has the boundless energy of a wee one almost four. Somehow what struck me the most while I looked at the images in post. was the idea that this time is so fleeting , and that childhood flies by in a blur, just like Emily that day. So focus on the children and let the rest of it go . In the end that is the important thing, isn't it?

First camping of 09

As we had our midmorning coffee around the picnic table. I couldn't help but notice my daughter and her fella reflected in the sunglasses of our friend and fellow camper, Kathy. You must be sturdy stock to sleep in the tent in june ,as they did. There was 1/2 inch of ice on the water pail in the morning.

Summer Begins

Today my daughter brought her two girls out to visit. The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. We spent the afternoon in the kiddie pool with the dogs looking for some shade. After everyone left , it was their turn. A short walk down to the creek and I had two very wet, very happy dogs. This is the first time I have taken them to the creek this season and they spent a good half hour frolicking and exploring, while I tried to keep my distance when they splashed and shook their coats out.

Morning Rituals

One of the things I do first thing in the morning is open the greenhouse. This morning i decided to take my camera along as I love taking shots of water droplets in the dewy morning. After some decidedly overdone shoots of water droplets Blah Blah ... I spied this bug. As I watched him climb up this blade of grass I thought how cool it would be to get a shot of him drinking. I was amazed as I peeped into his world. He climbed right past and I was a little disappointed, but then he turned around. I watched in glee as he not only drank from the water drop but he washed himself from head to toe, like a cat. WOW...